one-banana-problem

It's only a one-banana problem at the most; what's taking them so long?

Usage notes

The phrase is used at technical worksites, where routine computer system administrative tasks such as daily backup are handled by operators, where it is claimed that a trained monkey could do the jobs. At IBM, folklore divides the world into one-, two-, and three-banana problems.

Origin

Derived from the idea that trained monkeys can do low-level jobs, working for bananas. It also may come from Sherlock Holmes lore. In one story he told Watson that the current problem was "quite a three-pipe problem", meaning that he would have it solved after smoking three pipes.